Mignardise, Mignardise, Mignardise Recipe

Prep and heat

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F).

Sift almond flour and powdered sugar together into a bowl until very fine; discard any gritty bits to ensure smooth shells.

In a clean bowl, whip egg whites with cream of tartar on medium speed until they hold soft peaks; gradually add granulated sugar and continue beating until stiff, glossy peaks form. Beat in vanilla extract and pink food coloring if using.

Gently fold the dry mixture into the meringue in batches until the batter flows slowly off the spatula in a thick ribbon (the macaronage).

Transfer batter to a piping bag fitted with a round tip; pipe 2.5–3 cm (1–1.25 inch) rounds onto the prepared sheets, spacing well.

Tap the sheets to release air and create a smooth surface; let the shells rest at room temperature until a thin skin forms, about 25–40 minutes.

Bake shells for 12–14 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer to a rack to cool completely before filling.

Finely chop the dark chocolate and place it in a heatproof bowl.

In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream just to a simmer. Pour over the chopped chocolate and let stand 1–2 minutes, then whisk until smooth.

Whisk in unsalted butter until the ganache is glossy. If desired, whisk in vanilla extract. Let ganache cool to a thick, pourable state (about 30–40 minutes at room temperature or refrigerate briefly to speed up).

Match macarons into pairs by size. Pipe a small amount of ganache onto the flat side of one shell in each pair and sandwich with the matching shell.

Melt white chocolate slowly in a bain-marie or microwave in short bursts until smooth; drizzle or dip the ends of some macarons for decoration.

Optional: dust with edible gold dust and add a fresh raspberry on top of a few macarons for color and contrast.